Contributed by: InaGreendaseBrian(others by this writer | submit your own)Published on August 26th 2011Cheap Girls and Lemuria have offered no shortage of material in the past year: The former recently served up a Belle & Sebastian cover for Suburban Home's Under the Influence series, as well as pair of tracks on a split with Above Them last September. The latter have Chautauqua County, a teaser 7" r.

Cheap Girls and Lemuria have offered no shortage of material in the past year: The former recently served up a Belle & Sebastian cover for Suburban Home's Under the Influence series, as well as pair of tracks on a split with Above Them last September. The latter have Chautauqua County, a teaser 7" released late last year, and it was for the Pebble full-length that dropped in early 2011.

Seeing how Lemuria are churning out material in this time period faster than Cheap Girls, maybe that's why they have two tracks here to Cheap Girls' one. (Then again, these were recorded about a full year before this 7" was released, so maybe not.) Is it quantity over quality? While I like Lemuria best when they're carrying an almost chilling, restrained tension ("Mechanical", Ozzy), their lighter numbers can be lovingly gripping in their own ways. And that's more or less the case here. "Single Mother" is an incredibly simple but sweet panicking penned by Alex Kerns about his love for...well...you figure it out. Despite the "so fucking terrified" line, it's quite bright and sprightly. The most subtle alt-country twang invades the Sheena Ozzella-commanded "Lemons"; it's so unusually confident and full-sounding for Lemuria one could almost mistake it for an older Rilo Kiley track. Almost. It's a cool detour for them, though.

Cheap Girls' lone contribution, "Pure Hate" dates from May 2010. The Counting Crows-isms are definitely pulled way back, as are the '90s alternative vibes in general, really. There's something newly timeless about the band's approach here, with straightforward easy rocking over its 3:46, like a punkier, distortion-peddling Tom Petty. Bitter, approvable hook to boot.

Overall, Cheap Girls' side might be perhaps slightly better than the sum average of Lemuria's pair of cuts. But both bands definitely put something forth here that's worthwhile complements to their respectively ever-growing catalogs.

I love that "Single Mother" song. The melody is so pleasant and catchy (especially that chime-y part) and I like most of the lyrics. My only objection is the ridiculousness of that "I'm a single mother lover" line. I mean, what is that? It's like he's saying he has a single mother fetish! Huh? Otherwise, the song is a pure delight from start to finish. Complaining about a punk rock song being too repetitive amuses me. That's one of the hallmarks of the genre. Ever heard of The Ramones? :) If there are good hooks and a strong melody, I don't care how many times they sing the same words/play the same chords, both will ALWAYS be fun to hear.

If this would have been only Lemons / Pure Hate, I would have been stoked. Single Mother is just way too repetitive. It reminds me of the stuff from Pebble, in that it suffers from "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" syndrome.

Ehhh the two Lemuria tracks on here are total clunkers to me. Cheaps' track is pretty decent... I'm not sure if that's Ben harmonizing with Ian in the chorus (I haven't listened to this in a while) but I wish they'd utilize that more often. Good song though.